I would need more information about decay and regaining skills/stats before I could decide.

I suppose after 15 years it was inevitable that decay would become more prevalent in UO. We've reached the point where certain types of loyalty are subject to decay. And even the virtues have become subject to decay. So, is it inevitable that our characters' skills and stats will soon also become subject to decay?

If the UO team decides it's a good idea to apply decay to skills and stats, even those that are soulstoned, what would your reaction be?

Skills/Stats originally decayed. This was turned off because it was annoying and counterproductive to a "fun" game environment. (It was also used to grief when paired with "observing" others use skill nearby... Lighting fires at the bank, for instance, raised camping for those standing there.)

The Devs need to stop using the decay mechanic as it is needlessly punitive... and other words unsuitable for Stratics.

a.k.a. ROT - Rot Over Time
I'm for anything that delivers the message "there is no grind in UO". I wasn't around in them early days, but I got here as soon as I could. Less Grind, More Fun!
Give the people a reason to smile again, I don't think this is it

Stratics VeteranStratics LegendCampaign Supporter

Similar to all the above, No Thanks. I think I'd rather see a Decay on Gold universally, like 0.1-1% loss per week. Call it Britannian Tax, hits the ridiculously wealthy/Dupers the most that produce a devalued economy.

Stratics Veteran

I suppose after 15 years it was inevitable that decay would become more prevalent in UO. We've reached the point where certain types of loyalty are subject to decay. And even the virtues have become subject to decay. So, is it inevitable that our characters' skills and stats will soon also become subject to decay?

If the UO team decides it's a good idea to apply decay to skills and stats, even those that are soulstoned, what would your reaction be?

Stratics VeteranAlumniStratics Legend

I know of many people who keep accounts paid but play in 'spits'. If they were to return say 6 months down the line and find their 120 Skilled chars decayed.. They'd quit. And I wouldn't blame them. Absolutely not.

Skills/Stats originally decayed. This was turned off because it was annoying and counterproductive to a "fun" game environment.

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Also back in them Good Old Days, we had to eat for stamina loss, but just like the old days IRL, there are some good things, fun things that worked, eating wasn't one of them, but for the larger part, today's UO has so much more potential over those times... if someone would just quit playing with that Fun switch.

Stratics Veteran

Don't make the game further like a full time job. This will only destroy the game sooner.

This is a monthly subscription game, it shouldn't be a forced level up comparison game. People should have their rights to log on and have fun hunting or pvping whenever they like to. Not a game where you're forced to log on 24/7 in order to compete with others.

Stratics Veteran

Skills/Stats originally decayed. This was turned off because it was annoying and counterproductive to a "fun" game environment. (It was also used to grief when paired with "observing" others use skill nearby... Lighting fires at the bank, for instance, raised camping for those standing there.)

The Devs need to stop using the decay mechanic as it is needlessly punitive... and other words unsuitable for Stratics.

So to sum it up: HELL NO.

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This. I have grown very weary of our current dev's infatuation with decay. You start decaying skills and you are opening a gateway to an exodus from this game. The fact that EA makes money from selling extra char spots, which enables me to develop different characters, some that might not be played for a month at a time (3 accounts), means that when I come back and really want to play my legendary tamer (oops, not anymore...seriously wtf)/bush warrior/sampy/whatever only to find that they are no longer leveled out would be.....think about it.....********.

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I think realism is interesting in games. The problem is it's just not very fun. This has been an issue specifically in the wargame community. I remember one developer stated when realism vs. fun, they will always pick fun over realism. This also reminds me of another rpg, Magic Candle, in that game you had to eat, sleep, etc. to stay healthy. What I remember was if you didn't eat or sleep you could barely move. Imagine if that was in UO.

To answer the question, I would have to move on. I just don't think I could keep all my skills worked up.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

I suppose after 15 years it was inevitable that decay would become more prevalent in UO. We've reached the point where certain types of loyalty are subject to decay. And even the virtues have become subject to decay. So, is it inevitable that our characters' skills and stats will soon also become subject to decay?

If the UO team decides it's a good idea to apply decay to skills and stats, even those that are soulstoned, what would your reaction be?

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Yup, officially dumbest idea ever posted. 23 people very unhappy. No other votes. This really would kill the game for good.

Similar to all the above, No Thanks. I think I'd rather see a Decay on Gold universally, like 0.1-1% loss per week. Call it Britannian Tax, hits the ridiculously wealthy/Dupers the most that produce a devalued economy.

Or just no decay of both the above, and let it be~

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The scripters/dupers wouldn't care or notice such a tax.

I'm against decay of any sorts. Give people reasons to play, not to pancake and go elsewhere.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

Absolutely hate the idea of even more decays in game. I pay the money so I can play a game, having to do stuff regularly just to keep from decaying (the high skills/stats are required to experience many parts of the game, so after decay you would get to access less of the game than you could before) feels like turning it into a 'job' rather than a game.

I doubt even the current 'powers' would try something so bizarre, but since you never can tell what they will come up with next - any halfwit at EA who wants to try this 'extra decay' system out, fine as long as you scale my game fees to the skills and stats I have, since they limit the elements of the game I can play. Only fair, no?

Active encouragement to play, instead of punitive systems for dragging people into the game, would be just fine....

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back as UO origionally was decay wasn't REALLY that bad, but then that's only because back then there was quite a lot you could actually do in the game even with only starting skill (you know....stuff available in a rpg for players of all skill levels to participate in that's actually worth doing)...these days though where if you "only" have 720 skill points your template is "weak" and can barely survive in most things with 120 skill it would be a game killer though

Stratics VeteranAlumni

Why should.something like this be implemented? it has nothing to.do.with reallife too..or do you all of a.sudden lose your ability to calc,count,speak,etc.. and other things Ou learner in life without having an illnese? What would be the reason for skill/statloss any bonus or reward waiting if you skill up again? or are you just bored making silly votinggames?
Not sure if serious.....

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Skill loss for above GM skill points for skills that don't have a PS. If your doing a load of carping or tinking then gain to 120 with a drain back to 100. someone that lives for the treasure hunt or mining life can crawl to 120 if they keep at it. Me being the miner type wouldn't mind little less val smelt fails 5 times in a row. Even the lock picking. Heavy cooking can gain to 120 with added boost to magic dishes.

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Please no skill decay...it's bad enough retraining a pet's skill loss when it dies. Heck, take away decay from honor, sacrifice, and compassion virtues too. Why can't they just decay only when they're utilized?

Why should.something like this be implemented? it has nothing to.do.with reallife too..or do you all of a.sudden lose your ability to calc,count,speak,etc.. and other things Ou learner in life without having an illnese? What would be the reason for skill/statloss any bonus or reward waiting if you skill up again? or are you just bored making silly votinggames?
Not sure if serious.....

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I posted the poll in all seriousness, devil. If something like this is ever announced, I'll be packing the valuables in the bank and parking characters at a safe inn instead of their houses as soon as it is announced and then hitting the button to cancel subscriptions as soon as it makes it past Test Center. I would hate to see someone on the dev team believe that decaying skills or stats is a way to keep people logged in and active throughout the game, making it look populous again or to try to fool someone they report to into thinking the game is healthy because total time logged in by players has increased. Skill or stat decay might work in a game where paying customers only have one or two characters at most or, as some have said, in a free-to-play game. However, I think for the majority of players, people have trained too many characters to make constantly re-skilling them a tolerable proposition. I think skill/stat decay, if it doesn't actually completely kill UO because of cancelled subscriptions, would only lead to more people using scripts to keep their characters trained up and/or more people would share their passwords with family and friends so others with more time to play could log in and keep their characters' skills trained up for them.

I will never be able to claim that I have a character who was the first to achieve any particular skill title on a shard. But I know that is something that a lot of people take pride in. Also, a lot of people like to be able to craft items that show their maker's mark. Other people like to run around with skill titles showing above their character's head or on their paperdoll. Add in skill decay and all those things become moot.

Imagine this scenario: You were the first GM carpenter on your shard and have been able to make items with your character's name for 14 years (or however long that's been possible). You took a two-week vacation to visit your kids and grandkids in another state and enjoy that life you have outside UO and now when you can get back to UO again, you find that your carpenter's no longer GM. Guess you'll have to train her again before she can make furniture with her mark on it again. So sorry, but maybe the experience will make you decide to lug your laptop along on your next trip and make sure you squeeze in some time every day to keep your carpenter trained up if it's all that important to you!

Stratics VeteranAlumni

I posted the poll in all seriousness, devil. If something like this is ever announced, I'll be packing the valuables in the bank and parking characters at a safe inn instead of their houses as soon as it is announced and then hitting the button to cancel subscriptions as soon as it makes it past Test Center. I would hate to see someone on the dev team believe that decaying skills or stats is a way to keep people logged in and active throughout the game, making it look populous again or to try to fool someone they report to into thinking the game is healthy because total time logged in by players has increased. Skill or stat decay might work in a game where paying customers only have one or two characters at most or, as some have said, in a free-to-play game. However, I think for the majority of players, people have trained too many characters to make constantly re-skilling them a tolerable proposition. I think skill/stat decay, if it doesn't actually completely kill UO because of cancelled subscriptions, would only lead to more people using scripts to keep their characters trained up and/or more people would share their passwords with family and friends so others with more time to play could log in and keep their characters' skills trained up for them.

I will never be able to claim that I have a character who was the first to achieve any particular skill title on a shard. But I know that is something that a lot of people take pride in. Also, a lot of people like to be able to craft items that show their maker's mark. Other people like to run around with skill titles showing above their character's head or on their paperdoll. Add in skill decay and all those things become moot.

Imagine this scenario: You were the first GM carpenter on your shard and have been able to make items with your character's name for 14 years (or however long that's been possible). You took a two-week vacation to visit your kids and grandkids in another state and enjoy that life you have outside UO and now when you can get back to UO again, you find that your carpenter's no longer GM. Guess you'll have to train her again before she can make furniture with her mark on it again. So sorry, but maybe the experience will make you decide to lug your laptop along on your next trip and make sure you squeeze in some time every day to keep your carpenter trained up if it's all that important to you!

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so if you afraid of something like this, why do you even post about this to give EA input to think about it?

People post 'good ideas' all the time, wanting them to be implemented but they aren't. What's wrong with asking "Please Don't do this" ? Still doesn't mean it will happen, but I feel it makes it clear the people think certain things just sux and could stand a bit of 'adjustment'. I didn't see anybody say it's just OP, or you're a crybaby - no, a pretty resounding Hell No was what I saw.

so if you afraid of something like this, why do you even post about this to give EA input to think about it?

Still not sure if serious...holy cow!

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Well, I didn't and still don't think that making skills and stats decay is a good idea. However, as I kind of mentioned in the first post of the thread, several other in-game systems have recently been modified to add decay (virtues about six or seven months ago) or had their existing decay rate modified (faction kill points in the last publish), or were recently added with decay as an integral part of the new system (town loyalty two publishes ago). Is it just coincidence that this has happened, or does someone on the dev team think it's a cheap/easy way for them to get people to log into the game more often in lieu of having to more frequently push out fresh and enticing new content? If it's a deliberate move on the part of the devs because they have too much other stuff on their plates to deal with, I figured tweaking skills/stats so they decay (again) might be their next logical target. (Housing decay is another possibility.) I was curious about how other people might feel about the subject and whether anyone might present an argument in favor of it that might make it at least somewhat palatable. If many people say they don't like it, maybe it will keep the developers from even wasting time to consider it or test it. But then again, it could be they do stuff in a vacuum and polls like this and all the feedback that goes with them go completely unnoticed. Who knows.

This is sort of a pointless thread. I mean why not go make one called "Permadeath, still a stupid idea yeah?" and another one called "Making subscriptions payable only in chickens, not smart!" while we're at it?

Stratics VeteranAlumni

This is sort of a pointless thread. I mean why not go make one called "Permadeath, still a stupid idea yeah?" and another one called "Making subscriptions payable only in chickens, not smart!" while we're at it?

I think the issue is the community working united as a whole, doing what it takes together, for tomorrow's UO, if there's gonna be one. I certainly admit to not having all the answers, but unproductive threads which run in circles with repetitiveness, are They the answer? A common point must be made somewhere. PVP debate is going on now what? 2-3 weeks? Since I'm a Twammie, maybe someone could sum up what was worked out for all those weeks? NM., I already know, more vets are leaving the game. some of you won, happy with the prize?
Some wonder why we hear less from the Devs. They're here, It's just that some are so noisy attacking attacking each other, nobody can hear them. While many are very passionate towards certain issues, at some point maybe a line needs to be drawn and people 'agree to disagree', This is where a Dev might participate to offer more insight, and I've seen that happen on more than one occasion, so I know that works. a lot of threads to me, look like a big cluster F*, same thing many here see in game, hmm, mirror mirror...

or maybe it's all just a waste of time to try to make a difference? Everything is OP, 35k HP is way too low, grinds keep WoW in it's greatness, so it'll work for UO too. This is UO? Light up or leave it alone?

This is sort of a pointless thread. I mean why not go make one called "Permadeath, still a stupid idea yeah?" and another one called "Making subscriptions payable only in chickens, not smart!" while we're at it?

Stratics VeteranAlumni

- The current ARC now at Part III is the Begin of the End of UO
- We will see Exodus come back - Resurrecting BT
- LBR will make a comeback - taking Dawn with him
- Junoar will step up and say: NOOOOO DEEEEWWDSSS not WITHOUT me!
- *enter more old stories and EM played Chars here*

After all of this is done, the 15th anniversary will be held on all shards - Richard Garriot HIMSELFE will apear, kill them ALL - takes the Mic and:

"Dear fellow citicen of my sick brain imagination - this is the last day UO Servers are up - ANARCHY! - EVERYONE has ONE Life - if you DIE, your char just gets deleted - if you out of chars your account gets deleted - THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!"

SERIOUS meant! I think the ongoing Arc is the last one - this year is the last of UO..

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

This is sort of a pointless thread. I mean why not go make one called "Permadeath, still a stupid idea yeah?" and another one called "Making subscriptions payable only in chickens, not smart!" while we're at it?

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Except, there is a precedent in UO for stat and skill display, and the devs seem to have been moving in this direction. I view thispoll as a pre-emptive strike warning the devs and producers to STAY AWAY from stat and skill decay. Not sure of that was Tina's original concept for creating the poll, however giving the vast amount of productive research, testing, etc. that Tina has done over the years for the UO community, I am willing too give her boatloads of leeway.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

This will never happen, conversation on this topic is moot.
Hypothetically..... IF it did happen I'd release everything in my homes, let it decay,
then quit paying. Ive quit playing many times over the years (I get sick of playing
with cheaters so I take breaks) & only come back b/c of my finished chars and my homes.

Take away 50% of my reason for returning and you FAIL.
Nuff said...

@ LordDrago - nice saying on ur banner One of these days I'll figure out how to import
mine from the guild boards but reading urs makes me feel obligated to post mine, heh.
My father (US Military) drilled this into my skull as a child.

Only two things in life cannot be taken from you, your word and your honor. If you lose them it'sbecause you gave them away.

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